Army Chief General Bikram Singh Friday flew down to Uttarakhand to encourage his men involved in rescue operations.

He landed at Gauchar and met the troops of Army and ITBP. He lauded the job done by the troops deployed in the area over the past 12 days. I have come to encourage my men. They are doing a commendable job. We have deployed Garhwal regiment and Garhwal scouts in this area,considering that they are sons of this soil. The level of their commitment can be realised from the fact that despite personal losses,many of them refused to go on leave and chose to serve the nation, he said.

The Army chief said the evacuation has been completed in Kedarnath sector. From Harsil,I am told that there are about 500 survivors,who are being evacuated by road as well. In Badrinath,there are still 2,500 people stranded. If weather permits,they shall be evacuated soon, he said.

I shall be visiting all the affected areas including Kedar valley and Badrinath and Harsil sectors. We shall be conducting more search operations to see if there are any more survivors left, he said.

In a message to the nation,Gen Singh he said,We are there for you,its your Army,its peoples Army.

In Dehradun,Gen Singh along with Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna paid tributes to the personnel who were killed in the helicopter crash. The guard of honour to the 20 bravehearts is a little step from our side to remember their supreme sacrifice for the nation. We offer our prayer to all those who lost their lives, Shinde said.